Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!

Our Lizzie turned 4 on May 21st!
The cake may have been pink, but this girl is ALL tomboy! I let her pick out any wrapping paper she wanted (out of an aisle of almost exclusively pink/princess/dora paper) and she absolutely would not have anything but the Spiderman wrapping paper.
We went to ChuckECheese for lunch, and she chose the plastic bugs for her prize when she turned in her tickets. And for the record, she did ask for BLUE frosting.. but I already had the pink stuff out.. :)
She loved her presents - plastic animals (what she asked for), Peter Pan (thanks Aunt Nancy!), a stuffed animal, and a "new" bike (ok, I got it for $5 at a yard sale, but don't tell her!).



Spiderman wrapping paper


Peter Pan!

It's a....

BOY!! Another BOY!! woohooooo!!!

We are SO excited about having another boy in the family! A little brother! Boy bunk beds! Nine and ten-year-old boys playing basketball together! YAY!

That will help even up the odds around here..

Here are a few ultrasounds pictures:





The ultrasound tech was very sure that it's a boy, and even gave us a picture of the goods for proof. (Not sure I'll be posting that one online.. I'll have to think about that one..)

We're still pretty set on William for the name. William Bradford Merrill. How's that for a stuffy english name? I'm a direct descendent of Governor William Bradford of Plymouth colony fame, and we both like the name William of course, so we thought that would be a cool legacy.. We're so excited to be having another BOY!!

Weekend in New Mexico

Oh yeah, and we went to New Mexico the week after Easter to visit Jason's mom and my brother and his family. Jenna & Holly came down, too! It was so good to see everyone!

Here are a few pics from the trip:

At grandma Merrill's house
Coloring with grandma:


Andrew with a grandma lipstick kiss:


Grandma with all 4 kids


The (girl) cousins: L-R, Lizzie, Ambri, Audi, Micaela, Rachel


The sibs: Me, Rob, Holly, Jenna


A few from the Albuquerque Zoo:







It really was great to get the gang together, but traveling with 4 1/2 kids.. not such a 'vacation' in my book!
Although I did go get a memory foam pad for the air mattress - call me spoiled. :)


I think next time we need a nanny and/or some benadryl! (evil laugh)

And he's off!

Andrew is officially walking! All over the house. He still has a wide-leg waddle kind of thing going on, which of course is completely adorable. Yay, our first child to walk at a normal age! :)
I'll put a video up of his waddle soon..
Here's a pic from when he was still practicing:


On other fronts, (lame pun not intended) my belly is rapidly expanding. (A bit big for 4 1/2 months, but I guess that is halfway - this pregnancy is going so fast it's scary..) 10 days and counting until our ultrasound!



Jason's studying hard for the GMAT and I'm working full-time on decluttering our house. I can't believe how much STUFF we have that we could definitely live (much better) without!

Happy Easter!

We had a fun Easter with the kids, including an indoor easter egg hunt (it snowed for 3 days, including Easter), an Easter picture-taking torture session, and a 'fancy' dinner at a dining table! It was all very educational. :) We learned more about the real meaning of Easter, and also where to put our cup of red carbonated juice when we're done taking a drink.. (no, Rachel, the answer is not on the white fabric chair next to you..)

The indoor egg hunt was quick, easy, and they loved it - that's the way to do it!



Our 'fancy' Easter dinner:


Andrew took a few Easter steps!!


And a picture of our tulips before this week's snowstorms...


We're looking forward to some real spring weather... anytime now would be great!

It's so fun

..to watch them grow up!
Somebody apparently told Andrew that he's a whole year old now, because he's acting like it! He's babbling more, cruising around the house (as long as there's something to hold on to!) and yesterday he climbed up the whole staircase. (We can tell he's hoping for a little brother to romp around with.)
Yesterday he got his 4 shots at his 12 month visit. He's 22 pounds and 32 inches tall. (So far all our kids have been 32 inches tall at their one year visit..) Anyway, he's a sweetheart and we love our Andrew!

Yay for photo equipment!

Can I just tell all of you how beautiful it is to have a nice camera, one or two flashes and a backdrop (roll of white paper, a sheet, a blanket, etc..) and to NOT take kids to a studio!! It really is a beautiful thing. Trust me, it pays for itself in a matter of months. :)

these are from today:
Lizzie




Andrew:


Rachel:


Tomorrow I'll do Andrew's 1-year photo shoot. And not go anywhere!! And not pay anyone for pictures! :)